Poe-A-Tree?
by ShiningHopeBeast
Summary: For a bet between him and Raven, Beast Boy is attempting to do something he's never done before: read poetry. His challenge? Prove to Raven he truly appreciates poetry within thirty days. And boy, is it harder than he thought it would be . . . (Companion to SECRET HOBBIES? (From the Anonymous Teen Titans' Blog)) (BBRae)


_Quick A/N: AND NOW THE LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO_ SECRET HOBBIES _HAS **FINALLY** ARRIVED!_

 _Seriously, though, I have waaaaaaaaaaaay too many stories that I'm trying to juggle. I can't even juggle one ball in real life._

 _Well, I hope at least a few of all you FanFiction readers have been awaiting this story for the. . . six? seven? eight?... months I've promised it. Well, I finally, finally, fiiiinally pushed myself to get at least the first chapter out. Maybe if I get some positive feedback, I'll be more inspired to write more (wink, wink)!_

 _As I said before, this is the sequel to one of my other stories called_ SECRET HOBBIES? (From the Anonymous Teen Titans Blog). _You don't need to have read the prequel, but it would make a little more sense if you did. This is more like a companion book than a sequel, now that I think about it._

 _Anyways, let's get on with the story!_

 _ **DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Teen Titans or any other DC characters. Any similarities to real figures are coincidental and unintended._

* * *

 **Chapter** **One:** The Next Day. . .

 _10:37 PM Day 1_

 **B** east Boy groaned as the words on the page in front of him blurred and swam into illegible swirls of black ink. He rubbed his eyes wearily, then folded his ears back, yawned, and stretched his arms across his desk in an extremely cat-like manner.

"Why did I ever say I could doooooo this," he moaned. The shapeshifter then proceeded to fold his arms on his desk and bury his face into them with a weary sigh. A dog-like whine came from his throat and he sighed. "How can anyone understand this stuff?" His voice was muffled from beneath his arms. He sat there in that position quietly for a while before straightening up blearily. "Maybe a snack will help me think better. Nothing like some blueberries to help the brain."

He walked out of his room and his door swished shut behind him. He blanked out for a moment as he stood there and blinked his bleary eyes, trying to remember what he was going to do. Then suddenly, he recovered his memory and headed toward the common room. He ambled slowly down the hallway, not really paying attention to his surroundings. He didn't register the faint sound of splashing water coming from Robin's room, nor the quiet murmuring of Starfire's voice from the same place. He didn't think much of the silence from Cyborg's room, even though he usually heard the gentle hum of his charging station running at this hour.

Once he reached the common room, the doors swished open before him and he saw that the lights were already on. Walking down the stairs, he yawned again, squeezing his eyes shut. He realized that Raven was in the room and decided not to disturb her. Instead, he made his way over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, the draft of cold air waking him up slightly more. Reaching a hand inside, he scrabbled around until he found a package of blueberries. He gently closed the fridge door behind him and popped open the package before walking to the sink and quickly rinsing off the berries with water. He popped one into his mouth, chewing slowly and thoughtfully as he let his eyes close.

"How's it coming?" came the quiet voice of Raven. Startled, Beast Boy shot his eyes open and whirled to face her, almost choking on his blueberry. He coughed a bit before replying.

"Ehem . . . not that great, I guess," he shrugged nonchalantly, somewhat discouraged by his lack of progress. "Thought I'd try to eat some fruit to help my brain." He held out the blueberries. "Want some?"

She eyed the fruit skeptically. "I doubt that anything in our fridge is safe to eat," she commented dryly.

He shrugged and tossed one in the air before tilting his head back. The blueberry dropped in easily.

"So what's your trouble?" Raven asked before taking a sip of her tea.

"I don't get it!" He threw his arms up in exasperation. "I've tried a hundred times, but all I see is a jumble of letters and words. I've read the lines, but they don't make any sense! What is it supposed to be saying when it says 'Two roads divided in a orange wood'!?" He sighed and laid his head down on the countertop.

"Actually, it's "Two roads _diverged_ in a _yellow_ wood'," Raven corrected. "But I see your problem. You need to start out with something you can connect to, something you really understand." She placed her mug on the countertop next to him. "I think I may be able to help with that." She snapped her fingers and a piece of paper appeared next to her tea. As Beast Boy raised his head, she picked it up and handed it to him. "I hope this poem will work out better for you." And with that, she picked up her tea and walked out the door.

After simply sitting there for a moment, he grabbed his blueberries, dumped the rest of them into his mouth, and threw the plastic into the trash can. He picked up the paper and headed out of the common room, the lights flickering dark behind him.

. . .

 _10:50 PM Day 1_

Beast Boy plopped down on his bed and took a good look at the paper.

He began to read, albeit slowly. "'The Eagle', by Alfred Lord Tennyson. He clasps the crag . . ."

 _Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "The Eagle"_

 _He clasps the crag with crooked hands;  
Close to the sun in lonely lands,  
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands._

 _The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;  
He watches from his mountain walls,  
And like a thunderbolt he falls._

" . . . he falls."

He sat for a moment, thinking about the poem. Closing his eyes, he tried to picture what the poem was talking about. He started with an eagle . . .

[-]

 _There was an eagle, majestic and strong in his glory._

'He clasps the crag with crooked hands'

 _The eagle was clutching to a rugged rock face with gnarled feet and sharp talons._

'Close to the sun in lonely lands'

 _The cliff was high above the ground. The eagle was near the top. The sun shone at the top of the sky, bearing down on the land below. It was noon. From the front, he was a silhouette, the sun behind him. Nothing else was around. No humans. No animals. Not even a dry, thorny bush._

'Ring'd with the azure world, he stands'

 _The sky surrounded him on all sides. No clouds were present that day. The air was crisp and cool in the higher altitude even though the sun cast down its heat. The eagle was standing straight and tall in his pride, his chest puffed out and his head tilted upwards._

'The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls'

 _Far, far below, the dark blue expanse of the ocean spread out. The crashing waves and foaming surf looked like little folds and ridges, constantly moving back and forth and in one direction, controlled by the fierce wind howling at the base of the cliff._

'He watches from his mountain walls'

 _The eagle looked downwards. His black eyes glinted as he scanned the water below him, like a king surveying his kingdom from his castle walls. The cliff was seen to actually be on the side of a small mountain, shadowing the sea below._

'And like a thunderbolt he falls'

 _Without warning, the eagle released his grip on the face of the cliff. Immediately he fell straight downwards, his sharp beak pointing at the rolling waves. He gained speed as he sliced through the air with his wings folded to his sides for maximum aerodynamics. The face of the water rapidly grew closer, closer-_

[-]

Beast Boy's eyes shot open. The paper was crumpled in his hand. His heart was pounding with the exhilaration of his dream. He sat up leisurely and cracked his back before looking at his clock

 **7:23 AM**

Though part of him wanted to go back to sleep, he felt . . . excited?... by his dream. He dragged himself out of bed and smoothed out the paper on his desk. After reading it one final time, he carefully folded it again and slid it into his back pocket.

. . .

 _7:45 AM Day 2_

Beast Boy trotted into the common room, a grin on his face. "Good morning!" he called out happily, as he always did.

"I wish you a morning of goodness as well!" chimed Starfire in return. She was cuddling with Silkie on the couch next to Robin. Her head was resting on her boyfriend's shoulder as he read the newspaper.

"Morning," Robin greeted absentmindedly, not looking up from the paper.

"Mornin' BB!" shouted Cyborg from the kitchen. "Want some breakfast bacon, perhaps?" he teased.

Beast Boy wrinkled his nose. "Dude, I'm no cannibal, and you know it! It smells like death over there!"

Cyborg laughed as he watched the bacon sizzle on the pan. He decided not to continue their occasional morning banter this morning but save it for later.

"Did you rest well?' Starfire inquired as she rubbed Silkie's stomach.

"I did," Beast Boy answered, snatching a banana from the kitchen. "Did you?"

Her eyes lit up. "I did very much." As she opened her mouth to continue, Robin suddenly set down his paper and turned to the girl beside him. He started to warn her in a whisper.

"Star, remember that we agreed not to tell the team-"

She paid no attention to him. "After I spent time with him during his bath, I slept with him in his room-"

Beast Boy choked on his banana as a clattering could be heard from the kitchen. "Y-you did what!?"

Starfire tilted her head. "Is something the matter?" she asked innocently.

Robin shot off the couch and whirled to face his teammates. His face was a bright red. "It's not what you think, guys!"

Cyborg grinned slyly. "Oh, really . . ."

"I do not understand the confusion." Starfire set Silkie down and flew over the back of the couch to come closer to the boys, Robin following her. "I merely asked Robin if I could be able to read some of my poetry to him. And he said yes, so when I entered his room to read it to him, he was currently bathing in the bubbles, but I saw no trouble in doing it then. It took a lot of convincing for him to allow me to stay, but when he allowed it I stood in the corner as he bathed with the shower curtain closed. And then afterward he had me wait outside of the bathroom while he dressed, and then we cuddled together for the rest of the night." She smiled.

Before the two boys could say anything, Robin interjected, "And that's all that happened. Nothing else happened." He added a whisper under his breath. "Perverts."

Still, both of them smirked, though neither continued teasing him.

"I spent a lot of time in my garden," Cyborg changed the subject. "I guess now that the secret's out, there's no need to hide any of these things anymore."

"Yeah," Robin agreed, sliding an arm around Starfire's waist.

Beast Boy finished off his banana and tossed the peel into the trash. "See you guys around!" he said, heading towards the door.

"Where're you goin'? asked Cyborg. He put a piece of bacon in his mouth after he spoke.

"Just on a morning flight," the shapeshifter responded as he turned back to face them. He casually put his hands behind his neck.

"We shall see you later!" Starfire chirped happily.

Beast Boy grinned in response and walked out the door.

. . .

 _8:00 AM Day 2_

" _You're_ up early."

Raven's quiet voice greeted him as he opened the door to the roof. As he walked out, he found her levitating in the lotus position in her normal style for meditation, facing away from the Tower. Her hood was down, so he could see her violet hair.

"Good morning to you too, Ray-Ray," he teased cheekily with a grin.

To his surprise, she didn't glare at him, smack him, or throw him into the ocean. She simply floated down and unfolded her legs to stand on the roof of the Tower. She pulled her hood over her head as she turned around. "Did what I gave you help?" she asked, letting her cloak drape down and cover her whole body.

Thinking about his dream, he nodded eagerly. "Yeah, it did. I'm actually going to go on a flight right now to think about it." He stretched his arms out to prepare for his flight.

"That's good," she replied. "I guess I'll go get a cup of tea now."

"Okay," he answered. "I'll see you later then!"

Raven walked around him to exit the roof, and the door closed quietly behind her.

Beast Boy went to the edge of the roof and rested his elbows with his hands supporting his chin. He leaned out, scanning the view for a good place to go.

On one side, Jump City lay spread out before him. Already, the city was full of life, the sounds of rushing cars, chattering voices, and other ambient sounds blended into a general hubbub, a gentle murmur. In front of him, the bridge stretched out of the water, and on his other side was the ocean. He decided that the salty air would be refreshing, and promptly shifted.

A green eagle flew from Titans' Tower towards the ocean.

. . .

 _8:32 AM Day 2_

Soaring over the open water was blissful. Beast Boy screeched with an eagle's call as he glided high in the air. Spotting a cliff nearby, he changed directions to fly to it and landed smoothly, his feet grabbing onto a protrusion of rock near the top. He folded his wings, letting them rest as the cool air ruffled his feathers slightly.

As he rested, he thought more about the poem. Raven was right when she said that it was something he could really understand. The words of the poem closely conveyed the kinds of things he felt when he shifted into an eagle and flew. In fact, at that very moment-

Wait a minute.

 _He clasps the crag with crooked hands_

He was an eagle, clinging to the jagged face of a cliff with his talons.

 _Close to the sun in lonely lands_

He was high up. The sun seemed so far away, yet closer than if he was at sea level. He felt so fresh, separated from the busy city life, nothing around him. It was just him, the cliff, the sun, and the water.

 _Ring'd with the azure world, he stands_

The cliff was very high up. He was surrounded by the sky- the beautiful, majestic blue sky.

 _The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls_

He looked down at the water. From his perch, the mighty waves looked tiny, like little wrinkles in a huge blue blanket.

 _He watched from his mountain walls_

He looked out over the face of the water. Jump City was a speck in the distance. The only sounds were the crashing of the surf and the gentle sounds of distant wildlife.

 _And like a thunderbolt he falls_

He looked down to the water again, a glint in his eye. He leaned forwards and let go of the rock. He bean to descend, his beak pointing straight down as he sped towards the ocean. He seemed so small compared to the mighty cliff, but the way he streaked through the air gave him a sense of power. It was getting close- the water was, except he was the one who was moving. The rolling waves grew bigger and bigger, and the sound of the crashing water grew louder and louder. A huge wave began to rise beneath him-

He spread his wings and shot upwards, now looking to the sky. The ocean spray barely grazed him as he ascended towards the sun. He flapped his wings to gain altitude, his heart pounding in his chest and adrenaline coursing through his veins. As he headed back towards Jump City, the exhilaration of his dangerous trick stayed with him. He compared the poem to his experience. He could see well now how the words set up the scene for the climax of the poem- the very end- the fall. But why did it stop there? That was only half of the story. He considered the last line of the poem again.

 _And like a thunderbolt he falls_

It was a good way of describing it. Streaking downwards rapidly in a blur of color- much like a thunderbolt. And the excitement that filled him seemed almost electric, energy surging through him. Watching the water get closer and closer built up suspense- That's what the end of the poem did. It built a sudden suspense and then ended, leaving the reader or listener to imagine the rest. What an interesting way to paint a picture in someone's mind.

Maybe that's what the point of poetry was. To make the audience imagine what the subject of the poem looks like. To convey a certain imagery. He wasn't sure yet, but he could tell he was off to a good start at least to really understanding poetry.

. . .

 _10:04 AM Day 2_

After flying and thinking for a good while longer, Beast Boy had come back to the Tower, weary but a sense of pleasure in him at his discovery.

Now he was outside Raven's room. He knocked gently.

After a minute, Raven slid open the door. She eyed him suspiciously as he grinned nervously. "Did you enjoy your flight?" she inquired, hugging a book to her chest.

"I did. It was very insightful," he responded. He waited a moment before he continued. "Can I ask you a favor?" He put both hands behind his neck, biting his lip anxiously.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Do you happen to have a poetry anthology I could borrow?"

* * *

 _Well, that's what I've got for the first chapter. If it's well-received, I will do my best to work hard on updating it. If not? I'll just let it sit for a while and work on my other stories. Just decided to throw this out there for the time being. Please leave a review if you liked it or have any comments or questions about it. I would appreciate it very much._

 _ITNOJ-SHB_ 😉


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